Aéroports de Montréal (ADM), Bombardier Aerospace and Porter Airlines joined forces Monday to launch the inaugural flight of a series of biofuel flights which will deliver Raymond Benjamin, the Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to Rio de Janeiro for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20).

Prior to departing from Montréal Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, executives from each organization emphasized the importance of investing in sustainable aviation and their commitment to working with the industry to reduce the environmental impact of aviation. “As signatories of the Aviation Industry Commitment to Action on Climate Change, we fully share these objectives,” said Mr. James C. Cherry, President & CEO, Aéroports de Montréal. “I would like to take this opportunity to point out that Montréal–Trudeau airport was the first in North America to sell carbon credits and that we already have made several innovative achievements in the area of greenhouse gas reduction,” he said.

This marks the second biofuel flight for Bombardier and Porter this year. In April, Porter successfully conducted the first biofuel-powered revenue flight in Canada. In the conclusion to a test program that was launched in 2010, the airline flew one of its Q400 turboprops from its base at Toronto City Airport to Ottawa using a 50/50 blend of biofuel and Jet A1 fuel in one of its engines. Monday's flight is using the same fuel in one engine - certified to the new American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D7566/D1655 standard and derived from the oilseed crop, Camelina sativa (49 per cent) and Brassica carinata (one per cent). The aircraft’s other engine is powered by Jet A1 fuel.

The biofuel research is only one of many initiatives Bombardier has embarked on in recent years in the area of sustainable aviation as a pillar of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility program. Bombardier is also involved in numerous projects to reduce the environmental footprint of its sites and its products by using a lifecycle approach including Design for Environment and the implementation of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building standards at its manufacturing sites.

“Bombardier is proud to be involved in this symbolic journey for the industry,” said Hélène V. Gagnon, Vice-President, Public Affairs, Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility, Bombardier Aerospace. “As a leading aircraft manufacturer we must act as a role model for the industry where the environment is concerned, not only by designing and building innovative and responsible products, but by working in partnership with the entire industry to find solutions that can benefit us all in the long term.”

Porter operates a single-type fleet of 26 Q400 aircraft throughout its regional network “One reason that Porter initially chose the Q400 aircraft is because of its efficiency characteristics, including substantially reduced fuel usage and emissions compared to comparable jet aircraft,” said Robert Cordes, Executive Vice President and COO, Porter Airlines. “Biofuel used on a regular basis has the potential to make even greater improvements in the future. We’re proud to contribute to this goal as part of overall industry efforts.” (Image provided by Airbus)